SEPTEMBER 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
HARVEST OF SORROW Marilee Foster of Foster Farm harvests potatoes on her family farm in Sagaponack, on July 11, 2019. (REUTERS/Lindsay Morris)
WHAT’S INSIDE continued on page 18
21CORNER OFFICE 22SHAKERS 23 23 NONPROFIT
24
EVENTS
CHARITY
SPOTLIGHT
WHOLLY MOLI: MADE
ON LONG ISLAND
MOVERS &
PRESS BUSINESS
COVID-19 HITS LI FARM INDUSTRY HARD
BY CLAUDE SOLNICK AND DANA CHIUEH
Bob and Mark Van Bourgondien of CJ Van Bourgondien Greenhouses in Peconic were gearing
up for their peak sales season with high hopes and good weather when the pandemic hit.
Instead of a rush of flower sales, they had to shut their doors. And they’re not alone in the
experience on the North Fork, the heart of Long Island’s agricultural industry.
“Early spring really hurt us because we were considered essential,” Bob Van Bourgondien
says. “Then it was reneged.”
While farms that supply food were kept open as essential businesses, flower growers selling
ornamental plants like CJ Van Bourgondien were shut down along with restaurants and
offices.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
